Dow reports reactor upset at Texas PE plant

HOUSTON (ICIS)--Dow Chemical reported an emergency shutdown on Friday of the Train 1 reactor at its polyethylene (PE) plant in Freeport, Texas.

The company was investigating the root cause of the event, it said in a regulatory filing with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).

A second filing with the TCEQ several hours later later indicated the company was completing a maintenance procedure to clear residual material from the reactor.

It was not known whether the unit had been restarted, or whether there was any lost production. A company spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dow has two low density polyethylene (LDPE) units at its Freeport chemical complex with a combined capacity of 202,000 tonnes/year, according to ICIS plants and projects. It also has a 255,000 tonne/year linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) unit at the site.